Date joined etsy -1/14/09
Sales to date - 626
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.Hi! I'm Tracy and I currently live just outside of Denver, Colorado. We’ve moved all over the world (my husband and I were Army brats as kids), so now we are always looking for fun and interesting places to move next. I have two great kids, Max, 9, and Mia, 4, who keep us grounded and in one place for now! My favorite dessert would be anything chocolate. I can never have enough.
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
My average day starts around 7:00 by making sure my oldest gets off to school in clothes he didn’t wear yesterday. Then I rush around getting my daughter and myself ready, do a quick check of my email, down a two-shot latte that I make at home, and then head off to my PT job three mornings a week.
I get home mid-day and usually use the afternoon to create. If my daughter is in preschool, I get a ton done. If she’s off, then not a whole lot gets done, but I have her come into my studio and draw while I work. She loves to create things for me to hang up in there. I’ll answer emails/convos, renew here and there, take pictures of new items, basically whatever needs to get done that day.
In the evenings I’m usually running to soccer practice with my son so I’ll peruse the forums on my phone while I wait for him to get done. After dinner, homework, kids to bed, etc; I will usually hang out in the forums a bit while I watch TV with my husband.
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
I loved to draw as a kid and remember making huge master pieces on those large white pieces of packing paper that I would save from our last move. I tried my hand at a little latch-hook rug work and have a scary neon clown rug in my parent’s attic to prove how skilled I was at that..lol. Other than that, I really liked to be outside doing gymnastics on the front lawn.
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?
I had a friend years ago (2006, I think) that sold barrettes on Etsy for awhile and that was the first I had heard of the site. One day she told me she had gotten a big order from Australia and I just thought that was the coolest thing ever.
I had started getting back into jewelry making (did it in college, but then real life took over) and thought it would be a really fun thing to do when my youngest got a little bigger. Finally in 2008 I started planning it, hung out in the forums reading relentlessly (I’m a researcher by nature), started thinking of a name, and then opened in January 2009.
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
My first sale on Etsy was to a great Canadian buyer about 2 weeks after I listed my first items. I started with about 10 things in my shop. I had read on the forums that jewelry was light and inexpensive to ship internationally so I decided to offer international shipping from the get-go…definitely glad I did!
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?Foods: chocolate, grilled chicken, Wahoo’s fish tacos, steamed broccoli with butter, and Cool Ranch Doritos.
TV shows: I’m a bit of a reality TV junkie and love Project Runway, Top Chef, House Hunters International, and Devine Design. The one drama I absolutely love now is Modern Family.
Bands: I’m a product of the 80’s alternative band era and still listen to a lot of that: The Smiths, Depeche Mode, etc. I love Lady GaGa too though. And at Christmas time I set my TV to play the classic “seasonal” tunes all day long.
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.
Played the oboe in 8th grade band marginally well, check.
Knitted quite a few wonky, drop-stitched scarves for myself, check.
Can’t cook to safe my life, so soap making is definitely out for me, so I love to buy it on Etsy.
In all seriousness, I’d really like to continue what I’m doing, and once my littlest is off to school FT, take some more metalsmithing classes to learn new things. :-)
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
I think that the biggest thing you can do for your shop is to create something that differentiates you from other sellers. That is sort of how my earrings evolved. I could never find something modern yet exactly what I liked so I started making my own. Once you find something that is really “you”, I think it just clicks.
I do facebook, blog, tweet, etc; but I really think most people find me by searching on Google or using Etsy's search. Before I opened my shop, I loved to search on Etsy’s forums to read tons of past posts on whatever topic I had a question on. Read everything you can on SEO, rework your pictures, really think about how a buyer would search for your product and then tag with those words.
And always remember that a shop doesn’t just come together overnight. It takes some times to get it all in synch, so don’t compare your new shop to someone that has 5000 sales and feel bad about it. It’s always a work in progress.
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
There are so many shops that I really love, as evidenced by my bazillion “favorites”.
I recently bought the most amazing prints from Kathy Panton, an Australian artist, whose shop I just love for all the great bright colors. http://www.etsy.com/shop/KathyPanton
I have a bit of a ring obsession and got one of my favorite rings from Spiral Stone, also from Australia. It's made with chunky beach pebbles from New Zealand wrapped in sterling silver in a stacking ring configuration…devine! http://www.etsy.com/shop/spiralstone
My latest thing is handmade soap and I've bought some really great bars from BeSem Natural Scents! http://www.etsy.com/shop/BesemNaturalScents Won’t ever go back to store bought! I also got the best soap from Dirty Ass Soaps for my kids…super cute puzzle pieces that smell delicious! http://www.etsy.com/shop/DirtyAssSoaps
-One year from now, I hope my number of sold items keeps climbing! I’d like to reach 1000 sales by the end of 2010 and still love what I do!
a before (^^^) and after (vvv) of Tracy's studio
--Have an etsy shop with over 300 sales and want to be a featured seller? Contact me at phletcher@gmail.com
As always, thanks for reading :)
